If somebody had told me that being an author would involve quite so much time rearranging website categories, considering hosting arrangements and wondering why something that worked yesterday has developed a personality overnight, I might have asked a few more questions.
I had imagined rather more writing.
There would be research, naturally. Editing. Rewriting. The occasional argument with a sentence that refused to behave. Those are familiar parts of the work, and I accept them.
What I had not particularly planned was the amount of time spent trying to build a suitable online home for it all.
With a couple of months of 2026 still ahead, this already feels like a year that has earned its own chapter. Possibly several. One of them would almost certainly be called, “For Heaven’s Sake, Not Again.”
Still, Rob’s Books continues. There are books to write, readers to welcome and plans that remain worth pursuing, even when the route towards them looks rather different from the one I originally drew.
The Website That Needed Another Beginning
One of this year’s more trying experiences has been discovering that a website template I had been using was unsuitable for what Rob’s Books needed.
That meant starting again with another template.
“Starting again” is a wonderfully compact phrase. It conceals the pages, decisions, adjustments and checking involved. You can say it in a moment. Doing it occupies considerably more of your life.
A template can look promising when you first encounter it. Then you begin putting your own material into it: the categories, the descriptions, the images, the information readers need. Gradually, you discover whether it suits the actual work.
In this case, it did not.
There is a particular frustration in reaching that conclusion after investing time. You want to make it work because you have already put so much into it. Yet there comes a point when continuing to struggle with an unsuitable arrangement simply creates more work.
So, another beginning.
Another opportunity to decide where everything belongs. Another round of trying to make the website welcoming, understandable and useful.
And, inevitably, another cup of tea.
Moving the Digital Furniture
Now there is the move to different hosting to work through as well.
I recently wrote about finding a new home for Rob’s Books. The phrase sounds pleasantly domestic, although a website does not have the decency to pack its belongings into clearly labelled boxes.
Instead, there are pages, images, links and settings to consider.
For visitors, the important part is straightforward. You should be able to arrive, find your way around and discover something you would like to read or use.
Behind the scenes, reaching that straightforward experience takes attention.
I want the site to offer a clear route through its different subjects. Someone looking for a cosy mystery should not have to wander through a collection of air fryer recipes before finding the village where the suspicious death occurred.
Although, given the way my interests work, both may feature in the same afternoon.
Making Sense of a Varied Collection
Rob’s Books covers a fairly broad stretch of territory.
There are British legends and curious customs, wartime stories and historical subjects, children’s adventures and magical worlds. There are mysteries, recipes, puzzles and activities.
I enjoy that variety. It gives me room to follow an interesting question or develop a story that will not leave me alone.
It also creates a practical challenge when organising a website.
Categories need to mean something to the person browsing. A name can be appealing, but it must still help a visitor understand what they will find. Descriptions need to be informative without sounding as though they were assembled entirely for the benefit of a search engine.
Images need to suit the subject. Links need to lead somewhere useful.
These are small decisions individually. Together, they account for a surprising amount of work.
You finish one category and discover that it needs a sensible parent category. Then you notice another title that would fit better elsewhere. Before long, you have become the librarian of an institution whose shelves keep asking supplementary questions.
The Writing Waiting Behind It All
The technical work is necessary, but the books remain the reason for doing it.
That is easy to lose sight of when a website demands attention. There is always something else that could be adjusted, clarified or improved.
Meanwhile, a story is waiting. A chapter needs another pass. A historical detail needs checking. A recipe needs clearer instructions.
Those are the tasks I want the website to support.
The challenge is giving the practical work enough attention without allowing it to consume every available hour. A beautifully arranged website still needs worthwhile material, and writing worthwhile material requires time away from rearranging the website.
I would like to claim I have discovered a perfect balance.
I have discovered that the kettle remains dependable, which is at least a useful foundation.
Keeping the Digital Purpose Clear
One decision that helps give the site direction is its focus on PDF books.
Books sold directly through Rob’s Books are digital downloads. That needs to be clear in the descriptions and reflected in how the books are presented.
A reader should understand what they are getting and how they can use it. A cookbook might be read on a tablet in the kitchen. A puzzle or colouring page might be printed for personal use. A story might become part of a quiet evening together.
Keeping that practical purpose in mind helps when deciding what belongs on a page.
It also provides a useful question during the rebuilding: will this help someone find, understand or enjoy the books?
If the answer is unclear, perhaps the page does not need another decorative complication.
Perhaps I need to leave it alone and write something.
A Reason to Keep Building
Among the plans giving me a reason to persevere is the free, advertising-free family reading membership.
The intention is to encourage shared reading from birth onwards, with material that welcomes parents, grandparents and carers into the experience.
I want to develop something that gives families a reason to pause together. A story to enjoy. A picture to talk about. An activity that grows naturally from what they have read.
That needs thought and preparation.
It also needs a website that makes it clear where to begin and what is available. The membership plans are another reason to take the foundations seriously, even when working on those foundations is considerably less enjoyable than inventing a small dragon.
There are days when the dragon seems the more manageable undertaking.
At least its unexpected behaviour belongs in the story.
When Getting Help Becomes Another Task
There is another consideration running through all of this: accessibility.
I am deaf and cannot hold a verbal telephone conversation. Written communication is how I need to deal with enquiries and support.
When a service offers a clear written route, I can explain the problem, read the response and work through the suggested solution. When the route depends on making a telephone call, it creates a barrier.
During a year involving website changes, that matters.
It also reminds me to consider the experience of people visiting Rob’s Books. Clear information and understandable instructions deserve attention. People should not have to guess what to do next or struggle to establish what a service is offering.
There is always more to learn about making things easier for others. My own experience provides a fairly regular reminder of why it matters.
Starting Again Without Dismissing Everything
When something needs replacing, it is tempting to regard all the earlier effort as wasted.
I am trying to be fairer than that.
An unsuitable template teaches you something about what you need. Writing descriptions makes you examine how you explain your books. Reorganising categories reveals where the collection has grown and where the browsing experience needs more thought.
I would still prefer to learn some lessons with considerably less repetition.
Nevertheless, understanding what does not work can help shape the next decision.
The important thing is to carry that understanding forward. Otherwise, starting again becomes an expensive hobby in its own right.
A Little Progress Is Still Progress
This year has included more rebuilding than I would have chosen. It has required patience, decisions and a willingness to return to tasks I had hoped were finished.
Yet there is work here worth continuing.
There are stories taking shape, subjects worth exploring and a website gradually being brought closer to what it needs to be.
I do not need to pretend every setback has been a delightful opportunity. Some have simply been annoying.
What I can do is deal with the next task, keep the larger purpose in view and recognise the work that has been completed.
A corrected page counts. A clearer description counts. So does a chapter improved, a confusing instruction rewritten or a visitor helped.
Thank You for Staying With Me
If you have visited Rob’s Books while things have been changing, thank you for your patience.
If you have read a post, browsed the books or taken an interest in the plans, thank you for that too.
There is still work ahead, including the hosting move and the continuing development of the website. I will share updates as those changes take shape.
For now, the plan is to keep going, make sensible improvements and leave enough time for the writing that started all of this.
Preferably with fewer technical diversions.
I appreciate that may be optimistic.
You can explore the books, read the latest posts and follow progress at https://robs-books.uk/
Robin
Rob’s Books
